LG U+ to offer Nvidia’s 5G cloud-based games

LG U+ announced Thursday it will be the exclusive provider in Korea of Nvidia’s GeForce Now, a cloud-based gaming platform.

The agreement comes as the country’s third-largest mobile carrier strives to secure competitive gaming content that works with 5G connections.

While it normally takes a long time for users to download and update high-fidelity PC games on computers, the platform enables them to connect with games directly on cloud servers, even with underpowered or incompatible hardware - including smartphones, Apple Mac computers and televisions - according to LG U+. Over 500 games are available on the platform, including League of Legends, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Overwatch, many of which are popular in Korea.

“The cloud-based gaming service is an area where 5G network’s low-latency can be most useful,” said Lee Sang-min, head of 5G service business at LG U+. “By coupling our 5G technology and Nvidia’s cloud technology, we will offer a new way of playing online games.”

According to the Korean carrier, the 5G network is key to a high-quality gaming experience on the cloud, since slow connectivity would mean delays in games. While the California-based computer graphic card maker has been offering beta-test versions of GeForce Now for two years in America and Europe, LG U+ will be the first partner to deploy the company’s cloud gaming server in Korea.

The launch date has not been fixed, but an LG U+ spokesperson said it will likely be in the first half of the year. After launch, subscribers to LG U+’s 5G mobile phone services and internet protocol TVs will be the first to have access to the platform.

Securing 5G-based gaming content is the Korean carrier’s main strategy to achieving a competitive edge in the 5G era. Before partnering with Nvidia, LG U+ inked a memorandum of understanding with Hatch Entertainment, which specializes in making made-for-5G games, so it can have exclusive access to Hatch’s 5G-based virtual reality games. Hatch is a subsidiary of Finnish game company Rovio Entertainment, known for developing the mobile game Angry Birds.

BY KIM JEE-HEE [kim.jeehee@joongang.co.kr]